Building Green: Sustainable Construction in Emerging Markets

Octobre 2023
Société Financière Internationale - SFI- (148 pages).

Construction value chains, including the construction and operation of buildings as well as production of materials such as steel and cement, account for approximately 40 percent of energy and industrial-related CO2 emissions globally. Two-thirds of this can be attributed to emerging markets, and this contribution will grow substantially as growing populations, urbanization, and rising incomes drive demand for better housing and commercial buildings.
How developing countries meet their rising building needs will be pivotal to the world’s climate future. The good news is that the projected emissions growth in construction value chains can be reduced significantly with the application of existing technologies, new financing instruments, and the implementation of appropriate policies. Even as emerging economies meet the rising demand for residential and commercial buildings, it is possible to reduce total emissions from the sector below today’s level by 2035. To avoid perpetuating the status quo, decisive action is needed by policymakers, developers, construction material producers, financiers, and international development institutions.
IFC is launching this report to guide international efforts to decarbonize construction value chains. Building Green: Sustainable Construction in Emerging Markets was prepared through close collaboration between IFC economists, investment officers, and building and construction sector specialists. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges of reducing carbon emissions from construction value chains in developing countries, but also the considerable opportunities that will come from mobilizing the estimated $1.5 trillion of investment required for this transition.